As the army was clearing out the deserters from Tianzhu, Qin Shilei returned to Aya City once more.
Longji Plaza.
"An Qian, any leads?" Qin Shilei asked An Qian.
"No leads yet." An Qian frowned, releasing another ball of purple flame to touch the floating blue flame in front of her.
The blue flame suddenly flared, engulfing the purple flame in an instant, and then returned to its initial state of stillness.
An Qian took out a spare green longsword and slowly approached the flame.
An intense coldness traveled from the sword tip to An Qian's palm, and simultaneously, the sword tip began to melt, rapidly spreading towards the hilt.
An Qian had no choice but to quickly drop the longsword.
The longsword, discarded on the ground, continued to melt rapidly, disappearing without a trace in a short while.
"Wait a moment." Qin Shilei's eyes lit up as he looked at the Ghost Ice Flame.
[Perform attribute refresh?]
[Refresh.]
Eternal Lamp (Green): The Ghost Ice Flame can absorb external spiritual energy, remaining unextinguished for a thousand years.
Docile (Red): The Ghost Ice Flame's offensive capabilities are weakened, making it easier to tame.
Yin Extremity, Yang Genesis (Purple): The Ghost Ice Flame can freely transform between extreme cold and extreme heat.
Yin Extremity, Yang Genesis sounded impressive, but to help An Qian tame the flame faster, Qin Shilei chose the attribute Docile.
"An Qian, this flame seems to have weakened a bit. Try again." Qin Shilei pointed at the flame.
An Qian looked and saw that it was indeed so.
She then conjured another purple flame from her fingertips and slowly approached the Ghost Ice Flame.
This time, the Ghost Ice Flame did not immediately swallow the purple flame.
An Qian took the opportunity to slowly try and control the Ghost Ice Flame through her own flame.
Time flowed by, and a day passed quickly.
The purple flame from An Qian had completely enveloped the Ghost Ice Flame.
The purple flame swayed with the wind at times, and at other times it seemed frozen, becoming a flame sculpture.
Suddenly, the two flames began to merge, transforming into a flame that was blue within purple and purple within blue.
Then, this flame shot into An Qian's body with a whoosh.
"I did it!" An Qian opened her eyes, a beautiful smile blooming on her face.
"Madam, your comprehension is truly astonishing!" Qin Shilei praised, patting her upturned nose.
"Stop pinching my nose, or I'll bite you if it gets deformed," An Qian said playfully.
"Are you really going to bite?" Qin Shilei chuckled.
"You scoundrel, I'm not talking to you anymore." An Qian rolled her eyes at him, exasperated.
Since An Qian had only achieved initial control of the Ghost Ice Flame, Qin Shilei wasn't in a hurry to change its attribute to something better.
Chatting and laughing, they rode Xiao Qiang north towards Bei'an City.
Qin Shilei asked with concern, "An Qian, how is the situation with the bugs outside Bei'an City now?"
An Qian frowned and replied, "We've killed nearly three million bugs, but the number of bugs surrounding the city hasn't decreased; instead, it's increasing. I need to see my mother at Hope City as soon as possible, or I fear something might happen."
Qin Shilei hesitated, "Why don't we persuade Aunt and Uncle Shi to move to Bei'an City as well?"
An Qian thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, it's hard enough for my mother to find a second spring. Let them enjoy their romance. As for you, you're always disappearing. Be careful, I won't let you into my bed anymore. Hmph!"
"Heh heh." Qin Shilei grinned mischievously, "To compensate you, your husband will work hard tonight."
"Hmph!" An Qian rolled her eyes.
As they arrived at Hope City, a powerful aura suddenly emanated from the direction of the City Lord's mansion.
"I'm going ahead."
Qin Shilei's expression changed, and he immediately shot towards the City Lord's mansion using his lightning evasion technique.
However, by the time he reached the mansion, the aura had already vanished.
The people inside were all as usual, showing no signs of a strong enemy's invasion.
"Could it be that glutton has advanced?"
Qin Shilei's face lit up with joy, and he hurried towards the back garden.
When he entered the back garden, he found it in ruins, as if a category 12 typhoon had swept through.
"Master, I'm so hungry?"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
Immediately after, a massive golden figure lunged towards him at high speed.
"Glutton, you've indeed advanced. Not bad!"
Qin Shilei, for once, praised his pet, the Golden Armored Beetle.
"Master, I'm so hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
Chīhuò's mouth was half-open, and strings of drool dripped onto the ground, showing none of the imposing aura of a platinum-level powerhouse.
"Eat, eat, eat, all you think about is eating. Is that all you've got?"
Qin Shilei kicked the Golden Armored Beetle somewhat irritably.
"But Master, I'm really so hungry!" Chīhuò said innocently.
"Tell me, after reaching the platinum realm, what new abilities have you gained?"
Qin Shilei stopped discussing the food issue with it.
"I think I can eat faster now." Chīhuò thought for a moment and answered earnestly.
"..."
Qin Shilei's face darkened, and he drew his Juque Sword, pointing it at the damned glutton.
"Well, besides eating." Chīhuò thought again, "I think I can fly now."
With that, it leaped forcefully, as if intending to demonstrate its flying ability.
Boom!
Chīhuò, which had leaped over twenty meters high, plummeted back down like a meteor.
Although the Golden Armored Beetle was unharmed, the dust it kicked up lingered for a long time.
"Master, I can clearly fly. I'll try again."
Chīhuò looked anxious and prepared to leap again.
"Stop!" Qin Shilei quickly reached out and held it down. "I believe you. There's a no-fly zone in the city, so you can't fly. Besides flying, is there anything else?"
Chīhuò thought for a while longer, "I think I can easily control fellow bugs below platinum level now. I've also learned a ultimate move called 'Mount Tai Crushes Down'."
Mount Tai Crushes Down: The Golden Armored Beetle falls from a height towards its target. Once locked on, there is a 99% chance of hitting the target. There is a chance to stun the target for two seconds.
Qin Shilei was quite satisfied with the Golden Armored Beetle's ultimate move and turned his gaze back to it.
[Perform attribute refresh?]
[Refresh.]
Heavy as a Thousand Jin (Red): The Golden Armored Beetle's weight can be adjusted between one to ten times its normal weight. Its defense increases with its weight.
Light as a Feather (Red): The Golden Armored Beetle's weight can be adjusted between one to ten times its normal weight. Its agility and speed decrease with reduced weight.
Leader of the Swarm (Red): The Golden Armored Beetle's control over bugs of the insect world is enhanced.
To his surprise, there wasn't even a single purple attribute. Qin Shilei had no choice but to select Heavy as a Thousand Jin as Chīhuò's fifth attribute. He believed that with this attribute, Chīhuò's "Mount Tai Crushes Down" would surely be even more effective.